Dave, have you considered doing a cost/benefit analysis? For instance, it costs me $75 for my lawn service to clear my driveway and walkways for each snow storm. Admittedly, we get less snow than you do, but at 2-3 events per year, ($225 max per season), I could never justify purchasing and maintaining a snow-blower like yours. Heck, I'd never pay it back! Besides, my lawn guys are here in the middle of the night clearing snow. I'm lucky to have them, I guess.They also are responsible for plowing our development streets, so don't have to worry about our driveway getting blocked!

Knowing how you analize things, how many pages of notes did your snow-blower analysis require?

 

^ In our region we can count on 20-25 snow events in a 5 month season, and it can often stretch into the 6th month some years. I think we have had 3 events already. I would estimate that Dave likely has as many snow storms as us, as a guess.

 

Here in the snow belt we can get a dozen events a year.
It would be $65 every time they drop the blade in the driveway, so big storms might mean two or three visits.
The math adds up pretty quickly. We dropped $1400 or so on the driveway last year and that was just the common driveway part not my private section.
I have a bad feeling this is going to be a wicked pissah year at that.

 

The feedback has really made my decision easy. Thank you all. Jerry, the Ariens pro-28 is more of a beast than I need; I've read it is great when you have as much driveway as you have.

Gene, I probably should price out having my drive's done. I have two driveways so it likely double's the cost. When I've suggested the idea to the wife, she's said we don't need that. She's a barn girl, she's tough. She love's snow and would have no problem doing both driveways when I living on jello. This is as much for her as me.

Joey, we normally have most of the heavy storms go to our south or our north. I believe I only used our snow blower once all last winter. That's does seem like I'm doing an overkill, if I think about it too much. We all know two winter's are never alike. The one neighbor I could count on with a Kubota plus a huge old beast snowblower just moved, so I need to be ready for a big one.

Another neighbor has already offered to buy my Honda for his son, I just got'a come up with a price.

 

If I could come up with a good used skid steer cheaply, I'd get one of these.

Muskox Skid Steer Snow Blower - The Snow Blower that Back Drags! – NEW Hydraulics https://share.google/GLijGOkRxjVHVfuMS

 

lol, my wife suggested adding skid plates our Honda .... that was until I told her the county left a mound that would make it very difficult for me to back out my truck. She went out with Honda and ended up using a shovel. She agreed, the Honda has to go.

 

The problem with plows is they can only push it to the side.
Drivers want to stay on paved surfaces so they tend to not push it back far enough early in the season.
Pile up a half dozen good sized storms and our common drive gets squeezed in from both sides.
That gets bad since oil trucks can't get up and down the driveway.
So in the past I've moved the snowbanks back with my beast, 800 ft both sides, 3-4 feet wide and 2-3 feet tall
As long as it's not iced in, it works fine. Once it gets rained on and refrozen only a bucket loader or serious commercial plow can move it.

 

Our lawn service performs the same service Gene and at the same cost. Like you we don’t get much snow in lower slower Delaware. I love sipping my coffee and watching the snow disappear in no time.

 

We are our own lawn service. If you two are paying $75, I imagine ours would be at least $100. In 14 scrapes we'd be in the hole. Granted we could look out our Anderson windows and smile while it was being done but where's the fun in that.

 

lol, you made me do more research. Our snowfalls are a crap shoot.

Dec ‘23 vs ‘24: 5” vs 30”

Jan ‘24 vs ‘25: 22” vs 4”

Feb ‘24 vs ‘25: 35” vs 25”

Mar‘24 vs ‘25: 34” vs 21”

Totals: 96” vs 80”

Of course, the real test is how much at one time.